Belonging
by Lanta
Summary: A law has been passed, making all werewolves slaves. Remus is first bought by Sirius, and then inherited by Harry. One shot, very mild slash.


**Author's Notes**

This is a one-shot slave fic with Remus as the slave. The Masters are first Sirius, and then Harry. It is AU, obviously, and contains a number of different scenes taking place over more than twenty years. There is very mild SB/RL slash, but it is easy to ignore if you don't like it.

I will be writing a one-shot connector to 'Enslaved' at some point in the next couple of weeks. I am also thinking of starting a new slave fic (I've already worked out the beginnings of a plot), and I would like your opinions on characters. Harry is definitely going to be the Master, but who would you like for the slave(s)? I'm currently thinking Severus, Lucius or Dumbledore, but I'm taking suggestions. Males or family groups that are mainly male only.

I may do a few more one-shots like this one as well if people would like that.

Disclaimer: If I was J K Rowling, my fics would be a whole lot better, and far far longer. I am not her, nor have I any connection at all to the Harry Potter books or films.

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**Part One: The Sale**

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The instant Sirius Black finished reading the front-page news article of the Daily Prophet, he headed for the fire, desperately calling for his best friend, and sometime lover, Remus Lupin.

Receiving no answer, he called Hogwarts, and was quickly answered by a very grave Albus Dumbledore.

"I'm sorry, Sirius," said Albus quietly. "I tried to get him away but it was too late."

He just stared helplessly at the Headmaster. "What – what can we do?"

"My contacts in the Ministry are doing all that they can, but it's not much. The legislation was passed in secret, and those involved took great care to have all the werewolves in custody before making it public.

"From what I've been able to learn, Remus and the others will be fitted with a slave collar and given some basic indoctrination, and then sold at a public auction. Sirius – if we can't free them all before then, we _must_ be present at that auction. At least then we can try and prevent too many of them being sold to people who would abuse them."

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Standing in the crowd waiting to buy living, sentient beings was making Sirius feel sick. From the expressions of those nearby – Dumbledore, James Potter, Alastair Moody, and various other members of the secret Order of the Phoenix – they all felt the same way. And gazing across the large square, he could see others with similar expressions, who had evidently come here for the same purpose.

But far, far more of the crowd were grinning, enjoying this horrific spectacle, no doubt happily anticipating buying their own personal werewolf slave. Or perhaps another species; there were a number of 'lots' on sale of magical creatures that had already been legally enslaved, as well as the new werewolf category.

The sick feeling increased rapidly when he realised that the next item for sale was an eight-year-old girl. Fortunately, James and another Order member combined their sizable fortunes and managed to purchase her. She was property, but at least she would be taken care of.

Just two hours ago, he had seen Remus. Along with all the other slaves, he had been on display, his skills outlined on a board beside him, and his… other… assets also completely revealed. He had been so humiliated that he had barely glanced at Sirius, had just given the barest of nods to Sirius' assurances that he would be okay.

Unwilling to look anymore at the ongoing sale, Sirius turned his attention to the booklet in his hand. He quickly skipped past the advertisements for various slaves, and went to the 'Guide to Owning Your Own Werewolf'. The rules about keeping them locked up over the full moon made sense. The rest were just plain horrible.

He jerked to attention as another lot number was called. _That's him!_

Amid the calls of the crowd – some jeering, some cheering – Remus Lupin was brought out. Chained, of course, and still completely naked. His hands were tied behind his back, preventing him from even attempting to hide his most private parts. Sirius's eyes narrowed as one of the auctioneers _touched_ him, causing Remus to flinch. Fortunately another official reprimanded the bastard, but Sirius had no delusions that it was done for Remus's sake.

The bidding started low, and he didn't even bother to join in for a while. Remus was a fairly good-looking man, with excellent NEWT scores and a few years of practice in the service industry (after all, good exam results didn't get you very far career-wise when you were a werewolf). He would no doubt sell for a high price.

As the bidding continued, James whispered in his ear that if it got too high, he still had some money left from buying the little girl. He was thankful, knowing that he was likely to need it.

Eventually some of the bidders dropped out, and Sirius entered the race. The final price was among the highest in the auction so far, but at least he had won. Remus was his.

He sagged in relief, and exited the room quickly. He didn't think he could cope with sitting through any more auctions. Not when he had no money left to bid. He would have to trust to the remaining Order members, and the other good people in society, to save as many people as they could.

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He blanched as he past a tall wizard apparently using a whipping spell on his new purchase. The screams of the thirty-year-old werewolf were heartbreaking, but Sirius knew that he could do nothing. Interfering would only get the man whipped harder, and possibly get him into trouble as well.

He finally reached the area where slaves who had been sold were being forced to wait for their new masters. He gave his ID to the man in charge, and quickly gave over the required amount of galleons, signing his signature on the three-foot-long parchment, which stated that Remus Lupin was now the legal property of Mr. Sirius Black.

The document was magically copied, and he stuck his copy in his pocket, unwilling to look at it. He'd have _incendio_'d it if it weren't for the fact that he would most likely need it in the future. He'd never before thought that he could have such a fervent hatred for a single piece of parchment.

He was taken through the line of chained slaves, until Remus was standing in front of him. His head was bowed, a blush evident over most of his naked body. Sirius thanked whatever deity there was that he had thought to bring some extra clothing with him.

Lupin glanced up briefly, a look of relief on his face as he realised that his best friend had indeed bought him. The shame and embarrassment was still very much there however, and both men felt ill when Sirius was forced to put his wand to the collar around Remus' neck and claim ownership of him.

"On your knees in front of your new master, slave!" said the slaver harshly, kicking the back of Remus's legs and forcing him to kneel before Sirius.

"The collar will ensure his obedience, and can also be used to punish him, if you wish it," the man said, almost conversationally. "Of course, many people prefer to do it themselves… the personal touch, you know?"

Sirius did, and it disgusted him immensely. "Remove his chains."

"Are you sure, Mr. Black? The collar can control him, but I find that the chains help to show a new slave his place a lot quicker-" Sirius just glared at him, and he shrugged and waved his wand, magically vanishing the metal cuffs.

"Put these on," Sirius said quietly, tossing the trousers and shirt down to Remus, who quickly and thankfully dressed. He turned as the slaver held out a thin box.

"The slave's wand. It's up to you whether you let him have it of course. Some owners allow their slaves to have them just some of the time, for housework and the like. Personally I prefer to break them, or put them into a force field the slave can't breach. Breaks their spirit."

He took the box somewhat more violently than was really necessary. He fingered his own wand in its holster, wondering if he could get away with a few hexes. Would he be arrested for inflicting a mild pain curse on this bastard? Probably.

Remus finished dressing, and they left together, Lupin's head still bowed to the floor. He had no desire to see the faces of those they passed.

"I wish I could get that collar off you," said Sirius quietly as they walked towards the Apparition point, "but apparently it's illegal. Merlin, I wish I could free you."

"I know," said his new slave. "They told us the laws. I'd rather belong to you than anyone else, anyway."

"Here," said his friend, passing over the box and allowing Remus to take possession of what was his… even if, legally, it now belonged to Sirius.

Lupin breathed in deeply as he felt, once again, the connection to the nine-inch holly wand with a core of unicorn hair. He had always considered it strange, that his core belonged to an animal of such _good_, when the werewolf within him was commonly seen as a dark creature.

They reached the Apparition point, and then smoothly disappeared, heading back to number twelve, Grimmauld Place.

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**Part Two: The Betrayal**

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Remus sat there, unable to fully comprehend everything that had happened.

James and Lily were dead, killed by Lord Voldemort to get to their one-year-old son. And Sirius – his best friend, his lover, and his legal owner – had made it possible. Had betrayed them, given their location to the person who wanted to kill them. And had then killed Peter, too, and some muggles whose only crime was that they had been there.

He didn't want to believe it. And yet the proof was there, seemingly incontrovertible.

Why would Sirius, the man who had purchased him solely to save him, who had gone out of his way to make Remus feel like a human being rather than a slave, why would he do this? How had he become a cold-blooded murderer?

"I've taken young Harry to his relatives on his mother's side," Albus told him quietly. "The blood protections will keep him safe while he's growing up, and it wouldn't be good for him to stay in the Wizarding World, not after what happened. No one understands why he's still alive; the fame would almost certainly affect him. He'll be better off in the Muggle world, at least until he turns eleven."

Remus nodded. So not only had he lost all of his best friends in one swoop, but his best friend's child would be gone too, for almost a decade. Still, at least Harry would be loved, cared for. He had always got the impression that Lily didn't like her sister, but still, surely no woman could refuse to look after her own, orphaned nephew.

"Am I to be sold?" he asked, dully.

"No, of course not. You're still legally Sirius' property, even if he is in Azkaban. I've managed to arrange to have custody of you so you'll be okay."

He nodded, but found it hard to be relieved. He was too numb from everything that had happened to truly care what happened to him now.

He just sat there motionlessly as the spell was performed that gave Dumbledore control over his collar.

How could Sirius have betrayed them?

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**Part Three: The Truth**

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Remus lay in bed, his master, lover and best friend cuddled in his arms for the first time in over thirteen years.

He gazed lovingly at the sleeping Sirius. The Sirius who had not betrayed them, who was innocent of the murders he had been accused of. Who was now out of Azkaban, though still a fugitive in hiding.

He ached to think of what his lover must have been through. Twelve years of being tormented by his worst memories, of being surrounded by criminals and Dementors. His body was still slightly emaciated, even after all these months of freedom.

When it was first announced that Sirius had escaped, he had panicked. Dumbledore may have had custody over him, but Sirius was still his master, and if he had decided to come after Remus, there would have been nothing that he could have done. Fortunately, seeing Pettigrew's name on the Marauder's Map had given him the first hint of his former best friend's innocence.

He had seen Sirius briefly at the Shrieking Shack, when Harry had prevented the two of them from killing Peter. In the months since then they had corresponded by owl – or in Sirius' case, by big exotic birds – but last night had been the first time that they had made love.

He rested his head against his master's forehead, and slowly went back to sleep.

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"Sirius, do you have-"

Harry broke off, looking at the collar circling the neck of his former Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor. It was the first time that he had seen it; usually, Remus' clothing covered it up.

"Why are you wearing-" _Merlin, these two aren't into some kind of kinky S&M games are they?_

The two adults exchanged glances, and sighed. "Sit down, Harry."

He did so nervously, taking in the unhappy expressions of his godfather and friend.

"I suppose I should have told you before Harry," said Sirius quietly. "If anything happens to me, it will affect you."

"What – why?"

"Harry…" Lupin sighed. "Harry, when people complained about my teaching at Hogwarts, it wasn't just because I am a werewolf. It's also because I am a slave."

He stared, sure that he must have heard wrong. "What? But- slavery's illegal."

"In the Muggle world, Harry. Not here, not for anyone not classified as fully human. You already know about house elves."

"Harry, a few years after we graduated from school, a law was passed making all werewolves slaves. I managed to buy Remus, but legally there is no way that he can be freed."

Unable to fully take in what this meant, Harry's mind fixed on an earlier comment. "What do you mean, it would affect me if you died?"

"Sirius's Will names you as his sole heir," said Lupin quietly. "If he dies, you inherit me."

"I- I…."

"I know this isn't a pleasant thing to hear," said Sirius gently. "Believe me, we all hate it, but there's nothing we can do about it. People have tried to have the legislation overturned, but so far no one's succeeded."

Weakly Harry said, "So that collar…"

"Is magical," said Lupin quietly. "It gives Sirius complete control over me, very similar to the Imperius curse, and it also enables him to punish me. Dumbledore can use it too, since legally he's had custody of me since Sirius went to prison."

"Oh."

Sirius pulled his godson into a hug, sad and yet proud of how badly Harry was taking this.

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Over the next few weeks, Harry had cause to laugh bitterly at his ideas of the two older men _playing_ at being slave and master. If only that were the case.

He watched their interactions, and noticed how careful Sirius was to avoid saying anything that the slave collar might perceive as an order. He also realised that on the few occasions Sirius forgot, Remus always obeyed him, instantly and without question.

Sirus always closed his eyes when that happened, remorse and regret clearly visible.

With Lupin's permission, he told Hermione and Ron. He found that it was not really a secret to either of them; both had known that werewolves were legally enslaved, although not who Lupin's owner was. He was annoyed with them for not telling him, but reluctantly agreed that it was not their right to do so, and that it had been good for Remus to get to know his friend's son without such an issue hanging in their way.

He consciously started making sure that he, too, never gave Remus anything that could be interpreted as an order. Hopefully nothing would happen to Sirius, but if it did, he had no desire to accidentally make slavery any harder on his godfather's lover.

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**Part Four: The Inheritance**

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It had been weeks since Sirius' death, and still it had not quite sunk in. Remus kept looking around, expecting his lover to be there, only to once again feel his heart break as he remembered.

Sirius was gone, fallen through the Veil, killed by his own cousin.

And he, Remus Lupin, was now the legal property of James' sixteen-year-old son.

He was glad that it had taken this long to sort out Sirius' Will. Harry was surely grieving; the last thing he would have needed straight after his godfather's death would be a reminder of his new responsibility.

Dumbledore glanced at the Ministry official in charge of signing over the slave to his new owner, and then looked back at Remus. "I'm sorry my child, but legally you cannot be sitting down when your master enters."

Of course not. Because that would imply that he was something other than the sub-human slave the Ministry labelled him. He just nodded, sliding off the chair and onto his knees. He'd have to kneel when Harry came in anyway; he might as well save someone the job of ordering him.

Harry entered, sending a pained look at the man kneeling submissively at his feet, his head lowered.

"If you will just sign here Mr. Potter."

Actually, there was more than one place to sign, far more, and on more than one document. He would have thought in the Wizarding World at least, they'd have found a way to avoid paperwork.

Eventually however it was done, and the Ministry official left with a pile of scrolls. Harry gave a visible shudder as he looked at the parchment he held in his hands, declaring Lupin to be his personal property, and giving him leave to do whatever he wished with his slave. He could rape, torture and kill Remus, and legally it would be perfectly all right.

Like Sirius so many years before him, he felt sick.

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In some ways, Remus was a slave in name only. After all, Harry went out of his way to avoid giving him orders, and Sirius had been the same. Neither ever punished their property, and they and their friends did their best to treat him as an equal. With Sirius he had been a lover and a best friend, and with Harry he was a confidant and a mentor.

And yet.

He was still a slave. No matter how much they pretended otherwise, he was not free. He could not go anywhere without his master's permission – yes, Harry would always grant any requests he made, but he still had to ask, and that alone was humiliating.

He never had to call Harry 'Master', save in formal situations such as in front of Ministry officials. The only cooking and cleaning he did was completely voluntary, and there was very little of that; after all, Kreacher was there, and however much Harry hated the elf for his part in Sirius' death, he was still capable of dusting a room.

But there were still restrictions on him. He could not sign any legally binding document. His master gave his money to him; he was not allowed a Gringott's account. The money he made doing various jobs was paid straight to his owner.

The worst part was when he met people who thought of him as chattel. When complete strangers saw him as inferior and unworthy of anything but licking their boots. When he saw people treat their pets better than they treated their slaves.

It was horrible, but it was life, and it had been for a long time now.

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**Part Five: The Release**

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The war was finally over. You-Know-Who was dead, killed by Harry Potter. The Boy Who Lived was now the Boy Who Killed Voldemort, and the entire Wizarding World was falling over its feet to give him even his smallest desires.

But Harry wanted only one thing, and that they were more reluctant to give him.

"If you wish to free your slave Mr. Potter we will of course allow you, but to free all of them… why our economy would suffer greatly! Surely you would not wish that…"

But he did, and he made it very, very clear.

Hermione helped of course, starting campaigns to free every slave in the British Isles. After the passionate complaints of several house elves, she reluctantly changed it to freeing every slave who wished to be freed.

And finally, after months of work, under great pressure, and due to the fact that many of the fiercest supporters of slavery were now in Azkaban for crimes committed as Death Eaters, the Ministry reluctantly concurred.

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Harry came home one day, and spoke Remus' name, and the incredible joy he heard made Lupin turn round in surprise.

He took the document the twenty one year old held out curiously, and then stared at it in shock. His arm shook and Harry quickly helped him to sit down.

"I- I'm really free?"

"Yes."

"I…" he gazed at his former master and said faintly, "I haven't been free in over two decades. I was barely an adult when I- I can't believe it. I don't know what I'm supposed to do."

"Enjoy it," said Harry gently. "Live the life you should have lived. Or just get drunk, whichever sounds more appealing."

He swallowed, and then said, "I wish- I wish Sirius was here."

Harry just nodded. He was struck by how much of a role reversal this was. Usually, he was the one leaning on Lupin for support, he the one desperately wishing that his godfather were present. But Remus had loved Sirius, and had no doubt had to squash his own feelings in order to help Harry.

It had been so many years since his death, and yet neither one had ceased to wish daily that he was there.

He handed over another sheet. "I set up a bank account for you."

Remus stared at the amount. "Harry, really – this is too much."

He snorted. "For what you've been through, hardly. Besides, it's not like I'm exactly poor."

"All the same-"

"Just take it, please. Don't argue with me."

He smiled, briefly. "Maybe I should. Just to show that I don't have to obey you anymore."

They sat in silence, just thinking about everything that had happened. The people lost, the freedom gained; not only for Remus and the other slaves, but also for everyone else. For every child that could have been born into a world run by tyranny and oppression under Voldemort, and would now be born free.

"I think I'll take you up on that drink," said Remus, finally.

"And then?"

"And then I'm going to find some of the other former slaves, the ones who weren't as lucky as I was, and help them cope with freedom."

Harry smiled. "Hermione's already talking about setting up some kind of trust."

"Good." He paused, considering. "I feel like I should be celebrating, but instead I just feel… kind of numb."

A nod. "After I killed Voldemort, even after all the torture and everything… I didn't feel happy. I just felt stunned, like I couldn't really comprehend what had happened. Then the relief came, but still… it took me a long time to realise that it was finally over."

Lupin looked down, and then sighed as Harry pulled him into a hug.

"Don't worry so much about it, Remus. Don't bother making plans just yet, or thinking about how you 'ought' to feel. There is no 'ought' any longer, not now. You can feel however you want to. That's part of being free. Come on. Let's get that drink."

He glanced at Harry, surprised. "You just technically gave me orders, and yet… I didn't feel anything."

"Touch your neck, Remus."

Puzzled, he moved his hand under the high neck of his shirt, and then gasped. For the first time in over two decades, he felt nothing. No metal, no collar marking another person's ownership over him.

"How can it – I never felt it leave!"

"It left the instant the new laws were signed. Maybe you were asleep at the time."

He tenderly circled his neck with his fingers, feeling the flesh that he had not touched in such a long time.

Incredulously he whispered, "Merlin, Harry… I'm free. I'm finally free."


End file.
